The Dragon Prince: Second Chance
by Hipp0Breath
Summary: (PARALLEL/ALTERNATE EVENTS TO "THROUGH THE MOON") Eainamar, a former Dragonguard, finds little hope in the world after the loss of his wife. Stumbling onto an encounter with a like-minded Moonshadow elf, both make a desperate attempt to bring back their loved ones in a world of alternate circumstances.
1. Chapter 1: Old Ale and a New World

In the shabby rickety hall built into the side of a tree that once was a glorious bar populated by elves ranging from Moonshadow to Sunfire, of young and old, was a lone Skywing elf downing his fourth pint, evident by the stack of wooden cups unceremoniously scattered on the table.

"Eainamar, I think you've had enough today my boy."

"Barkeep, hit me with another one." Eainamar belched loudly.

The elf sighed and shrugged before turning away to continue cleaning some cups in a shallow sink.

"Barkeep, come on." Eainamar nudged his cup closer to the barkeep's side of the table.

The elf gave another sigh as he turned around.

"I hate to see you like this Eainamar. You've got to do something about this. Figure something out for yourself. Everyday of this wretched war, you've been sitting here. And not that I don't enjoy the company, but I'm worried about you, my friend."

The drunk Skywing elf rolled his eyes in frustration before downing his fifth pint in one gulp.

Just then, another Skywing elf burst through the door in a hurry.

"Woah there, slow down! What's the matter?" The barkeep dropped what he was doing.

The younger elf grabbed the elf by the shoulders.

"The war! It's over! It's really over!" The elf had a hysterical smile running from cheek to cheek.

A wide grin spread across the barkeep's face.

"That's amazing lad! A round on the house for bringing me the news!"

The younger elf sat down beside the already drunk Skywing and eyed the scattered cups incredulously.

"No better today eh Eainamar?"

"You know it Beinam".

The barkeep turned around with cups of ale in both hands as he set one down for the younger elf and put the other one near his arm.

"You know Eainamar, with this war over, it's high time you head back out there and see what the world has to offer."

Eainamar slumped down with his head resting on both arms on the table.

"And do what?" A short silence fell between them.

"Visit more bars in other towns perhaps?"

The barkeep gave an evil eye at Beinam but returned his view to Eainamar who had a small smile.

"You know what kid, not a bad idea."

Eainamar got up to leave as he pushed the wooden door open and left the candle-lit bar. As he exited, the long forgotten light stung his eyes causing him to raise his hand above his forehead.

"You can't be serious right? He's been drunk for the longest time!"

Beinam sipped from his cup as he eyed the barkeep.

"But at least he'll be out and about. There ought to be something out there to distract him."

The barkeep gave a mumble of approval as he sipped his ale.

"Good thinking lad. Let's hope he runs into something then I suppose."

As Eainamar entered his long abandoned abode, the graceful smell filled his nostrils causing a tingle and tempting him to run as far away from the house as possible. He opened the windows to air out the familiar smell that he wished he could forget. His mind focussed on all the exotic ale he would be able to drink after he got airbourne and made it to the next settlement.

By nightfall, he finished packing his belongings and closed the door behind him. After locking up, the elf threw his rucksack over his shoulder and slid his spear into a sling which was slung around his other shoulder. He uttered a spell as his arms became wings. His ascent into the night sky gave him another rush of anxiety, feeling the wind brush past his form as it had so long ago the last time he flew. The sobriety was getting to him: it was letting him think. He hated that.

"Let's test if this new-found peace is really true," he whispered to himself as he made for The Human Kingdoms.


	2. Chapter 2: A Quick Stop

**MAJOR EDIT: Apologies, I thought Rayla's parents were presumed dead, but soon found out she believes them to be alive according to the fan-made wiki. Changes have been made accordingly.**

The stars seemed to mock him as he flew through the night sky. They were perfect and beautiful, reminding him of what once was. Now they accompanied him to what would hopefully be a quick demise.

As he approached the border to Xadia, he braced himself for the first impacts of arrows to streak through his chest and leave him gurgling in his own blood until he succumbed to blood loss, his body twitching on the ground. However, this was far from the truth. He found not a single soul roaming the borders, only silence was his constant companion as it had been for so many months. His eyes seemed to twitch as he saw even the ancient Moonhenge had been rebuilt. A shining lake that represented what the elves once held dear, only to be destroyed at the beginning of the war to prevent human misusage.

"Might as well get drunk with a view," he whispered to himself.

Eainamar landed near the edge of the lake as his wings became arms and hands again. Stabbing his spear into the soft dirt, he plopped himself down near the lakeside and fumbled through his rucksack procuring a flask of ale he had acquired before he left town from another local barkeep. He took a swig and looked out over the water which gave a purple gleam with hints and specks of dark blue and magenta. He took another swig before letting out a long sigh.

"What are you doing here?" A voice came.

He slowly turned around to see a shorter elf than he, long white hair with markings that suggested she hailed from the Moonshadow clan.

"Look I promise I won't piss in the lake, I swear it." She looked at him in confusion. Her expression soon turned to one of awe as her mouth was agape slightly seeing the spear stabbed into the ground beside him. He followed her gaze to the weapon. "You want it? You can have it. I have no need of it."

The Moonshadow elf stumbled back a bit in disbelief causing Eainamar to express equal amounts of confusion.

"You're a-

"I'm a what? A drunken Skywing elf?" I know, been doing it for about a year, or two, or maybe three-

"You're a Dragonguard! That's the spear given to the aerial wing of the Dragonguard!" She screamed, her voice filled with anger.

Eainamar felt as if a large boulder had tumbled over him at the sound of that title.

"Look little one, that was a long time ago-

"Cowards like you ran as my mother and father risked their lives trying to protect the egg!"

Eainamar suddenly dropped to his knees as the tears began to fill his eyelids.

"I'm sorry!" The elf broke down in tears as he bowed before the younger elf. Small sobs filled the air for a while dashing the silence.

The Moonshadow elf turned around, her back facing the sobbing figure as she let out a small sigh.

"Look, I didn't mean to do that." He looked at her as he knelt.

"The egg was taken and my friends and I had to save it because it was under the threat of destruction at the time." Eainamar regained his composure slightly as his sobbing subsided with his features expressing confusion.

"I was told that the egg was in safe hands. Why did you have to reclaim it?" The Moonshadow elf looked at him in confusion.

"My mother and father were the last ones to defend that egg! The rest of you ran!"

"I wouldn't have run if I had known that it was still under threat. Even after the fact that- Eainamar stopped short, the words bearing on him heavily refusing to leave his throat.

"The fact that what?" The Skywing elf gave a long sigh.

"The fact that I lost my wife that day!" The Moonshadow elf slumped slightly.

"I'm sorry, I just knew my parents were trying to defend that egg because they were all that was left of the guard." Silence fell upon the two.

"What were their names, child?" The Moonshadow elf sat beside him facing the lake.

"Tiadrin and Lain." Eainamar repositioned himself to look out over the lake as well.

"I knew your parents. Two of the bravest in the Dragonguard. In fact, I had even spoken with them shortly before the battle began." The Moonshadow elf's eyes lit up.

"Really? What happened that day?"

"It's a long story young one, and not one that I am fond of telling." The Moonshadow elf averted her gaze slightly. "But a story is a story nonetheless." Eainamar grabbed one of his flasks as he raised it to take a sip.

"Say, what's your name?"

"Rayla, and yours?"

"Eainamar."


	3. Chapter 3: The Dragonguard

"Tiadrin, Tiadrin. Come look at this." Tiadrin strode over along the defensive barrier between the inner sanctum holding the egg and the outer defenses. He took the viewer and brought it to his eyes.

"Are the others ready yet?" Tiadrin lowered the viewers.

"Aerial wing and ground branch is assembled and the outer defenses are all prepped. All we can do is wait now," Tiadrin said lowering the viewers.

The swooping of wings drew the attention of the two Dragonguard.

"Eainamar, Feindra, how far are they?"

"At least a dozen legions, they should be arriving in a matter of minutes," Feindra reported. Eainamar put his hand on Tiadrin's shoulder.

"We're going to take a group with us to the Northern flank. Make sure you take care of yourself, you have a daughter to go home to."

Tiadrin coveed Eainamar's hand. "We'll see what may come Eainamar. I'm counting on you to tell our daughter what happened here if this goes awry."

Eainamar gave Tiadrin a nod and Feindra and Eainamar flew towards the Northern flank.

"That was the last time I saw your parents." Rayla stared at the ground in front of her.

"Thank you for telling me all of this," Eainamar gave a slight nod as he took a swig from his flask.

"Had to give them a vote of confidence that they would see it through and go home to their little elf."

Eainamar and Feindra reached the Northern flank as they landed and passed various fighters hunched over in their makeshift shelters eying the frontline carefully.

"Should be any minute now," Eainamar said. The sudden rumbling of steps shook the ground beneath them. An inaudible command down the line of defenders was given and the flanks seemed to tighten as the clattering of armour sounded. Eainamar squinted to see the legions of steel-plated soldiers moving with each step inching towards their objective. The legions suddenly halted. Eainamar brandished his spear, Feindra following suit with her own spear. There was an inaudible shout from the human lines as the entirety of their ranks erupted into uproar as the onslaught began.

Eainamar impaled one of the humans before whipping his spear out from the previous victim to lodge it into the next victim's eye. Feindra stuck close to him in the fray as she too impaled one soldier after another, the blood beginning to gather in the etches of her blade.

"We'll can't hold them here forever!" A voice shouted, presumably from a fellow Dragonguard.

Eainamar took a small moment to nod at Feindra, to which she reciprocated, before the two covered their fronts from the reaching blades and pikes as they retreated deeper into their lines with others following suit.

"Arrows!" Eainamar used his body to lurch over his wife.

A barrage of arrows rained down on the crowd leaving many on the floor with groans and grunts.

"You okay!" he could see the panic in her eyes.

"Better than ever!"

The two continued their tactical withdrawal deeper into the lines as the human legions kept pushing the now faltering troops in nearer and nearer to the inner sanctum. Soon, the pair found themselves in the halls of the mid-santum. Cries echoed off the walls as the clattering of weapons could be heard closeby. The crowd was mixed with humans and elves as Eainamar and Feidnra practically had to shove their way through the great halls of the palace.

Few hallways down, they came upon an arch-shaped doorway which opened to see the now orange sun, a sign of the failing daylight. Eainamar's eyes widened as the call for arrows was given and the silhouettes of archers appeared at the arch-way.

"All I can remember was the feeling of her arms around my neck." Rayla looked at him in confusion. Eainamar gave a long sigh.

"No!" Eainamar felt his wife's body faltering as her arrow-ridden body felt limp in his arms. The rest of the battle seemed to freeze for an eternity as they locked eyes and he saw the blood begin to drip from the side of her lip.

"I'm sorry, my love." Eainamar could only look on as she closed her eyes. The warmth from the blood seeping on to his armour and clothing made him feel sick.

"I'm sorry," Rayla said, her heart sunk with his as she saw the loss in his eyes.

"So, I ran, past the mid-sanctum, through the inner sanctum, and to an emergency assembly area where many were planning to escape."

A Sunfire Dragonguard ran up to Eainamar.

"Oh no." Eainamar laid his wife's lifeless body on the ground as the Sunfire Dragonguard knelt beside her as well. "I need a healer over here! Now!"

The place seemed to be lost in the chaos. Not a soul slowed down to check on any of the freshly wounded as many were tending to the already critically wounded, with those able to be moved, being loaded into wagons provided by local villagers.

"I'm sorry Eainamar." The Sunfire elf looked around, eyes pleading for anyone to stop and help. "There's nothing we can do for her. The best thing for you to do is get out of here!"

"And what of the egg?" Eainamar could feel the tears start to well, but he was still conscious that he had a duty to do.

"The egg is safe, now go! Get out of here!" The Sunfire elf drew his sword from his scabbard and rushed towards soldiers who had breached the inner sanctum and were beginning to flood into the emergency evacuation area. A perimeter was being formed to buy time for the survivors who were still too wounded to be moved.

"I took her body with me and boarded one of the wagons as he told me. I believed that the egg was in safe hands." Rayla stared at the ground, her head drooped over in thought.

"We buried her in her home village. Gave her full last rites and all." The two sat in silence for a while longer. The only sound was an occasional gulp when Eainamar took a swig from his flask.

Rayla suddenly put her hand on his shoulder.

"You're not a coward for what you did." He looked up from the flask sitting in his lap to see the teary Moonshadow elf before him.

"Losing her right then and there, that's terrible." Rayla admitted wiping the tears from her cheek.

"That's my burden to carry though, Rayla. I don't want to put the same thing on you. Damn thing gets pretty heavy over time." Eainamar gave a small dry chuckle.

"I can help you." Eainamar looked at her in confusion.

"What are you proposing?"

"The Moonhenge, the Moon Nexus, is a place that the Moonshadow elves used as a portal between the living and the dead for decades. I am here tonight because I was planning to journey over and find my parents. I also wanted to make sure that Lord Viren is truly dead." Eainamar cringed at the disgraced lord's name.

"He took so much from both of us," Eainamar admitted.

"Exactly, which is why I plan to crossover, find my parents, and make sure Lord Viren is dead."

"Sounds like quite the journey for such a young elf like yourself," Eainamar stated as he took another swig from his flask. Rayla got up and extended her hand to her fellow elf.

"I'm inviting you to join me. This could be your chance to find her as well." Eainamar looked up at her, as if he had seen a shooting star racing across the sky.

"Are you sure about this?" He said as he took her hand and stood up.

"We have the same goals. It only makes sense." Eainamar gave her a nod which earned a smile from Rayla.

A rustling came from the brush behind them.

"Who's there?" Eainamar called out into the darkness as Rayla drew her daggers.

"By the order of the ones who guard the Moon Nexus, none shall go through the portal that is the way between worlds." Rayla and Eainamar brandished their weapons at the Moonshadow elves that began surrounding the duo.

"Lujanne, please, we have to try."

"Eainamar, this is an other-worldly aspect which may not be controllable by any mage in this present world. Stand down."

Rayla looked to Eainamar to which Eainamar returned the look. Anticipating their actions, a guard lunged at the duo causing Rayla to parry the attack. Another guard made a break for Eainamar to which he parried the attacker with his spear and shoved the guard back with the dull end of his hilt.

"Stop fighting!" Lujanne commanded. Rayla and Eainamar saw their chance and made a break for the portal which had started illuminating in the moonlight.

"I activated it a short time ago before you arrived! Let's go!" Rayla shouted as they ran. As their feet hit the water, the two felt themselves being pulled through a vortex, consumed by the unknown void tumbling wildly not knowing what direction they were headed in and what they would find on the other side.


	4. Chapter 4: A Fight to Finish

Eainamar felt his shoulder hit the ground first with a thud as his legs toppled over his torso and he was left sprawled on the grass.

"Talk about a rough landing," he mused, massaging the lower of his back.

His eyes widened as he ducked just in time to avoid colliding with the teenage Nightshadow elf tumbling towards him. His features tensed as he heard the impact some distance away from him.

"You alright, Rayla?"

"Nothing serious," Rayla jested dusting herself off. The younger elf's eyes began scanning their surroundings, her ears tuned into the environment, alert and ready for a possible ambush.

"Is it just me, or does this look exactly like where we came from," Eainamar suggested as he walked up beside Rayla. "It seems to be the Moonhenge, but where is everybody?"

"It's another realm, which explains the lack of friendly faces," Rayla reasoned.

"What was that?"

The bushes near them rustled as spear and daggers were brandished towards the source of the sound.

"You are trespassing on royal territory!" a voice came to which Rayla and Eainamar looked at each other with the sinking feeling at the pits of their stomachs. "Surrender, and you will be given a fair trial!"

"What's the call Rayla?"

"Show yourself!" Rayla called out to the foliage. The clanking of armour came followed by at least nine armed footmen with sigils on their tabards.

"Damn," Rayla said under her breath.

"Wait! Katolians! We are friends, are we not?" Eainamar rationalized.

"In the name of Overlord Viren, lay down your weapons!"

"Oh crud." Eainamar mtutered as he raised his spear.

The guardsmen charged the two elves, their eyes filled with blazing hatred for their adversaries.

Eainamar struck at a charging soldier allowing the man's momentum to skewer himself onto his spear before Eainamar flung him aside. Another man charged at the Skywind elf from behind as Rayla leapt between them and slashed her daggers across the man's chest, earning a loud painful cry from the man. Eainamar gave a great cry as he slashed his spear across one man's face, landing right between the gaps in his helmet. He then jabbed another in the stomach, disorienting him. Taking the chance, he grabbed the man by the back sending him crashing into the other man whom he had just disarmed causing them to pile onto one another.

"Retreat!" cried one of the surviving soldiers as the rest of his comrades followed behind, their armour clanking and rustling as they disappeared into the brush.

Eainamar caught his breath as he felt the beads of sweat drip down his forehead.

"You know, I thought you were drunk all this time?" Rayla admitted between breaths.

"You just didn't let me hit my fifth flask," Eainamar joked earning a chuckle from Rayla. "Should we spare these ones?" Eainamar looked to one of the groaning men curled up in pain.

"Of course, but they'll be looking for us. We have to move," Rayla reasoned.

"Right, but where to?" Rayla thought for a moment before her eyes lit up.

"The Moonhenge is here, so this realm might just be similar enough to have the same locations as well."

"I know! Let's head back to my town! There should be some friendly folk to help us there!" Eainamar sheathed his spear and uttered some words turning his arms into wings.

"Hop on!" The Skywind elf motioned with a wing.

"You sure, I can sneak past just fine."

"It's better if we stick together, now let's go." Rayla shrugged and sheathed her daggers as she latched on piggy back style to Eainamar as he lifted off into the starry night sky.

"If our theory is correct, the border should be right ahead, and it won't be happy to see us!" Rayla's eyes widened.

"Eainamar, are you sure we shouldn't just sneak around?"

"Of course not, we're going to zoom right by them!" Before Rayla could refuse, the wall was getting closer and closer as they zoomed towards it.

"Eainamar!" An inaudible command along the wall was given before numerous arrows arched into the sky. They burned with flames illuminating their flight paths.

"Hang on!" Eainamar swooped low into the trees as twigs and leaves rushed past the two snapping on impact. "Sorry!"

The two could hear the arrows whizzing and landing around them as each impact caused Rayla to close her eyes and latch onto Eainamar a little bit tighter.

"WOOHOO!" Eainamar gave a loud cry as he broke the treeline and swept right past the wall with dozens of surprised archers viewing the duo whipping past them. Eainamar re-entered another treeline for a bit, this time on the Xadian side, until he made sure he was clear of the wall before he resumed his normal flight altitude.

Rayla slowly opened her eyes before giving a slight punch at Eainamar's upper shoulder.

"ARE YOU INSANE?"

"Sneaking over the wall would have risked us being captured. It was a much better approach to get past them hard and fast!" Rayla gave an annoyed sigh as the two continued their path in the night sky. A silence fell between them.

"You know, Feindra and I thought about having a little elf of our own once," Rayla turned her view to Eainamar below her. "We'd have rides like these, that's for sure."

"You still can if we can find her here," Rayla said hopefully.

"I sure hope you're right Rayla, I sure hope you're right."

The two soon landed.

"Oh no." Eainamar stepped over to a burnt-out house. He scanned the rest of the area. He found only husks of settlements loosely strewn about the place with piles of rubble neighbouring barely standing structures.

"We're too late." Eainamar rubbed some ash between his fingers that he had procured from a nearby pile of rubble. "They scorched the place to cinders. There's no way-

"Elves?" Eainamar and Rayla whipped around to see two elves eying them cautiously.

"You shouldn't be out here, the patrols might catch you!" one of the elves warned.

"Come with us, you'll be safer at our base!" The duo nodded as they followed their new-found allies. The four passed through thick brush until they arrived at a small encampment illuminated by minimal torch-light.

"Our leader will want to speak with you," one of the elves said.

"In fact, you should know one another considering you're both Dragonguard." Rayla and Eainamar looked at one another with hopeful surprise to learn that there was Dragonguard present at this side of the portal as well. The two approached a large tent as their companions separated the drapes to let the duo enter.

Eainamar's eyes widened suddenly seeing the back of the figure standing before them.

"Welcome to the resistance. I am-

The words, cut short, lost in the midnight air that swept through the tent.

"Fein- Feindra?"

The two elves embraced passionately as they rushed into one another, enveloping the other in a warm long-await hug. Rayla watched silently, smiling at the warm spectacle.

"I- I thought you were dead?" Feindra said with tears in her eyes.

"And I thought you were dead?" Eainamar said, pulling away from her slightly to gaze into her teary eyes with his own.

"The arrows they-

"They killed you that day." Eainamar said, finishing Feindra's sentence. "This is Rayla by the way! She's the one who reactivated the Moonhenge to get us here!"

Feindra's expression turned to one of fear.

"What's wrong?" Eainamar inquired.

"You opened the Moonhenge?" Feindra said slowly.

"I'm trying to find my parents, and I was called to the Moonhenge to find some answers." Rayla explained.

"That portal is now active for Viren and his troops to march across!" Rayla and Eainamar looked at one another in shock. "He's going to send everything he's got to take over both realms!"

Rayla felt a surge of guilt coursing through her as she quickly rationalized a plan.

"Eainamar, stay here and help Feindra with whatever she needs. I'm going back to get help." "Wait!" Eainamar shouted in a futile attempt to get her to stop. Rayla bolted out the door and sprinted away from the encampment towards the border. The two were now left alone in the tent, the air tense with anticipation.

Eainamar took Feindra's hands as he looked her in the eyes.

"I'm guessing we're not out of this yet," Eainamar whispered solemnly.

"I don't like it any better than you do, but we have to end this, for the Dragonguard. For all those who have suffered because of him."

"I know." Eainamar brushed his hand gently against his wife's cheek. "I just don't want to lose you again." Feindra sighed, resting her head against her husband's chest.


	5. Chapter 5: A Portal to Catch

Rayla felt her breaths quickening with every step towards the border. She dashed up the wall hearing the pieces of stone crack and crumble as she landed on the structure. To her luck, there were no guards which allowed her to jump and escape from the battlement easier than first anticipated. She finally made it back to the clearing. Her breaths started to slow as she walked towards the portal.

"Hey you!" Rayla felt a large mass collide with her before feeling her body squashed against the ground. She found her arms sprawled out seeing her ambusher above her.

"Lil' elf lost her way?"

Rayla pulled her legs back stamping them into the man's gut as he stumbled back in shock. As she got up, a manic yelling came from behind her as she drew her blades and dodged the attack as the man missed her by inches.

"You'll pay for that you lil' brat!" The man charged at her once more, resuming his manic shout as she dodged him again and jumped into the portal.

Rayla felt herself being thrown about as the first time she had jumped through before she crashed back on the soft dirt. She heard quick footsteps approaching her.

"Are you alright Rayla?" Rayla turned to see Lujanne looking at her with concern. "I have consulted with the other mages and they are trying to keep the portal open. Lujanne's features suddenly expressed immense frustration. Do you know how irresponsible it was to-

"Listen to me!" The younger Moonshadow elf grabbed the older by the shoulders, surprising her slightly. "We need troops here now!" Lujanne looked at Rayla with a questioning look. "There's an invasion coming! I need to talk to Callum!"

"What inva- her words were cut short as an armored man was practically thrown from the portal landing in a loud clatter of armor.

The man scanned his surroundings, his expression quickly turning into one of mixture of fear and adrenaline. "ELVES!" The man made a mad dash at Lujanne to which Rayla locked her blades with his. Fellow Moonshadow elves rushed to help protect the healer as well as they spun at the man and quickly dispatched him.

Lujanne, still slightly shocked, looked at Rayla who had now sheathed her blades and was waiting patiently for the elder elf's response.

"Let's go talk to Prince Ezran." The Moonshadow elves formed a defensive perimeter around the portal as messengers ran for their respective locations to gather reinforcements. Lujanne, accompanied by a small contingent of guards and Rayla, rode horseback until they saw the tall battlements of Katolis. The quick-fire galloping of the horses kicked up stone and pebble as they arrived at their destination. Rayla was the first to dismount, leaping off of her ride, and running towards the royal quarters. She found her calm again as she spotted Ezran and Zym in one of the many hallways.

"Ezran! I need to talk to you!" The Moonshadow elf's shout gained the attention of the young royal as he jogged over to meet her with Zym following closely behind.

"What's the matter Rayla?"

"We may be under attack! I need you to send troops to the Moonhenge now!"

"Rayla!" Rayla's heart settled a bit more in Callum's arms. "Wait, the Moonhenge? The mages told me that it was destroyed long ago, wasn't it?" Ezran gave an incredulous look at Rayla as with Callum's confused look.

"I- I reactivated it okay." Rayla's voice escaped her, almost preventing the words from escaping her mouth.

"Why would you do that?" Callum's expression increasing in its degree of confusion.

"Look, that doesn't matter now. I'll let my aunt know, we'll be down there in no time." Rayla sighed somewhat in relief as Ezran and Zym made for the war room, leaving Callum and Rayla alone as they began to exit the royal quarters.

"Hey, I didn't mean to blame you back there, sorry." This earned a smile from Rayla.

"It's okay Callum. It's a long story. I don't blame yah."

The two hopped onto Rayla's mount, still waiting patiently where she had left the mare, and the two made for the Moonhenge with increasing speed. As they reached the large lake-turned-portal, they still found Moonshadow elves gathered around the large body of water.

A Moonshadow elf approached them as they got off their horse.

"No activity since you left. We should have reinforcements arriving shortly." Rayla nodded approvingly at the Moonshadow elf's report.

"We have troops coming as well. Katolis is sending support." Callum's remark earned a small nod from the Moonshadow elf before she turned away to return to her post. Callum noticed the mages around the portal keeping the medium-sized gate open.

"Wait, if they're keeping the thing open, why can't we just have them close it, preventing the invasion entirely?" Callum walked towards a mage before feeling Rayla's hand on his shoulder.

"There's a whole other world there Callum." Callum's eyes widened at this. "One where Viren won." Callum's eyes were virtually the size of moons now. "And I opened this portal in hopes of finding my parents. There's a lot we don't know about this place, but I have a feeling if it's a realm where Viren reigns, my parents can't be far."

"Is it true, what they say about the dead from this world, could be alive on the other side?" Rayla was slightly taken aback by this remark.

"I guess you've been studying the Moonhenge for awhile as well then." Callum nodded slightly at this.

"I've seen it with my own eyes, it's true." Callum was in complete awe. "In fact, he's still over there right now, and we need to help him too."

"Who now?"

"A former Dragonguard." Callum shrugged in acknowledgement.

"Nothing we can't handle." Callum gave Rayla an encouraging smile easing Rayla to allow for a small chuckle.

By nightfall, the portal was bombarded by makeshift defenses, the clattering of armor from the movement of troops echoed into the night as slight chatter came from the battle-hardened soldiers.

Rayla stared into a small candle every so often flickering as she sat on a wooden stool. Her ears heard the muffled voices and movement outside of her tent as a gust of chilling night air caused her to turn around in her chair.

"We're almost ready to go through." Rayla got up from her seat to join Callum as the two left the tent.

"We'll take around half of the battalions through with half staying here to defend, and we have reinforcements on standby assembling near the border as a fall-back position."

Just then, an inaudible command was shouted as the portal seemed to get wider seven-fold. Another shout was given before the first troops began marching through the large gateway.

"I'm sorry for pulling you into this Callum." Rayla looked at Callum unnervingly. 

"Hey." Callum brushed his hand gently against Rayla's cheek. "I wouldn't have it any other way." Rayla smiled at Callum as the two redirected their gazes towards the giant portal and followed beside the troops as they stepped through the gateway.


End file.
